Chart journal guide · 4 min

How to save and back up your chart journal

Understand device-only saving, optional Google account saving, JSON backups, CSV exports and recoverable trash in PlainAstro.

By PlainAstro · Updated 2 November 2026

Before you collect many notes, choose how you want to keep them. PlainAstro offers device-only saving without an account and optional Google sign-in for private account saving. A separate backup is useful with either choice.

Device-only saving

Without sign-in, saved charts and entries stay in this browser’s local storage. Press Save entry or Save changes when you finish writing.

Clearing site data, changing browser profiles, using another device, or losing the device can leave that local journal unavailable. Device-only storage is not the same as having an independent backup.

Optional account saving

Choose Sign in at the top of the site, or open the journal’s Google-saving option. The sign-in window explains what is shared. PlainAstro uses your Google account ID and first name; it does not request access to Gmail or Drive.

When signed in, journal changes save privately to your PlainAstro account after you press the entry’s save button. Check the status message for confirmation that changes reached your account. Google receives the sign-in request, not your journal text.

If this device already contains a journal, you can open your account’s journal or add the device’s journal to it. Read that choice carefully. Signing out removes the account’s cached journal from this browser; its cloud copy remains.

Make a JSON backup

1. Open Backups near the chart selector.
2. Choose Download backup to export the journal as JSON.
3. Keep the file somewhere private that you can find again.

The backup contains private chart details and notes. Avoid putting it in a public folder or attaching it to a public post. If a download is unavailable in your browser, choose View backup text and copy the complete text into a private text file.

Restore or combine notes

Choose Import backup and select a PlainAstro JSON backup. Import adds records instead of replacing the journal. Conflicting versions can be kept as separate records, so check the result before doing another import.

Export notes as CSV creates a table for reading in a spreadsheet. CSV leaves out entries in trash and is not the format used by the journal’s import tool. Use JSON when you want a restorable journal backup.

Recover an entry from trash

Choose Show → Trash under Your observations, then choose Restore on an entry. Moving a note to trash is recoverable; it is not a permanent account-deletion request.

If the cloud copy changed elsewhere

When the journal detects a conflicting cloud version, it stops automatic overwriting and offers a backup. Export your unsaved version first. Then load the latest cloud version and compare the records before importing or making further edits.

For more about account storage and deletion requests, see Privacy details. For a first entry, start with the getting-started guide.